Bathroom Update

Manged to get a decent bit of work accomplished since the last entry so I thought I'd take a break and post an update. Here goes. . .

Once I determined that there were no leaks in the plumbing I finished putting up the remaining portion of the HardieBacker, taped and floated all of the walls, and caulked all of the necessay areas with silicone. Next came the part I was dreading. . . putting in the final layer of deck mud. I was not able to use strings as slope guides this time so I imagined that it was going to be much more difficult that it actually was. I did have a bit of trouble with the threshold, but finally rigged up some forms to acommodate my needs. After letting the floor and treshold dry overnight I cleaned up all the loose sand and installed the bench. Maybe later this week I'll have some pictures of a tiled floor.

Walls are all taped and floated, ready for tile.

The floor for the bench is complete. Unlike the normal shower floor, this area of the floor is level, not sloped, so that the cinderblocks for the bench sit level and plumb.

Floor is complete (and perfectly sloped, if I do say so).

The threshold did give me a little grief. This side was about 6 1/2 inches from the floor to the top, and a half inch thick layer of deck mud does not like to stay upright without a little help. Needless to say, after this side fell off once it was time to make some forms.

The final layer of deck mud is in and the threshold is finished. I've just built my first shower pan. Crazy.

The bench is complete and now it's officially time to tile. Interesting note. . . it just so happens that the shower was exactly wide enought (and I mean exactly) to accomodate five 7 1/2 cinderblocks, with thinset, perfectly. Funny how that works. I'm pretty sick of cutting anything concrete (pretty much sick of cutting, period) so I was praying that I wouldn't need to bust out the grinder to cut anything else today. Talk about an answered prayer! God is good!

Led

I hope y'all are not sick of the same four songs playing. Sadly I cannot find my FAVORITE cd of the 4-disc set I have! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The Police

Last Friday I went to see The Police in concert. I don't think Isabella enjoyed it as much as Damian Rice. She wasn't dancing! It was a nice evening that started with some good Mexican food at Cafe Adobe and ended with some good tunes! They started out with "Message in a Bottle" which reminded me of Guitar Hero...how sad.

juli and her mom, mary

waiting for the show to begin...

can you guess which song they're playing here?

Groovin' to a different beat!

Jason and I were bored and felt like dressing up and dancing. Pico caught us on tape!

http://www.ican.ie/campaigns/universalmusic/dancesisterdance/myvid/index.php?v=9c7c62fdc019

SUCCESS!!!!!

WOO-HOO!!! I tested the plumbing and no leaks!! I realized that this might not seem like all that great of an accomplishment, but this vertical spa required that I solder 57 joints, some in very hard to reach places. So needless to say, I'm currently in a very good mood. The picture says it all. . .

Bathroom Update

So I managed to retain all my fingers today, and that's always a good thing. All the HardieBacker is now installed, with the exception of the wall with all the plumbing fixtures. I also managed to get all the pipe sweated in and will test for leaks tomorrow (everyone pray that there are no leaks). After I check for leaks, I'll put the rest of the HardieBacker up and then it's time to install the final layer of deck mud. I'm amazed that earlier this week I thought, "I'm gonna install the remaining moisture barrier, put up all the HardieBacker, sweat the rest of the pipe, check for leaks, and get the rest of deck mud in." I was telling Sandra tonight that it seems that no matter how hard and fast I feel like I'm working, I always feel like I don't get as much accomplished as I want. Oh, well.

Almost ready for tile!!

All I have left to do before I'm through with the plumbing is cap off one pipe in the attic and then test the system. Kinda scary.

This is how I plan on testing. I've created caps that screw onto all the fixtures, so all I have to do is put some teflon tape on the threads, screw 'em on and and let'er rip. And hope that water doesn't start squirting all over the place.

Bathroom Update

Today I finally got to work on the bathroom again, and I was able to get the bay window almost all ready to tile. I installed the the HardieBacker on the base and walls of the bay window with the moisture barrier underneath it. Tomorrow I'll install the rest of the backerboard and then I'll be ready to tile everything. Which, by the way, Sandra and I picked out this morning. Mrs. Conrad was nice enough to clue me in on a once a year sale a flooring company was having AND let me order it through her company (I would not have been able to buy it myself as they deal only with commercial orders). Pretty sweet. Thanks Mrs C.! The tile we picked out is called Mediterranean Noce. Unfortunately, I also had my first recordable today. All this time with no injuries, and then. . . I managed to run the end of my thumb into my diamond cutting wheel. Of course, the first thing I thought was "I gotta get a picture of the this for the blog." So I did. First things first, right? Anyhoo, I fixed it up and worked until I ran out of nails. I'll post another update tomorrow. Hopefully I won't cut off any typing fingers.

Sandra had to turn the flash off on the camera because there was so much dust in the air that you couldn't see anything.

Some of that dust in the air migrated to my head. It was almost like I had hair again. I cried a little when I washed it off.

My war wound. I imagine I'll be getting a call from my dad, the ex-safety manager.

Testing, testing

More music to come...technical difficulties.

Jason, sorry for snoring last night. It's the body snatcher!

Back aches, pain here, pain there

I know a blog was originally intended for a sort of message board, but I have found it to be a great place for pictures mostly. Tonight I speak. Eh-hem...do I really have 2 1/2 more months? Really? I want my body to feel normal again! I want my body back! I really cannot complain too much being that my pregnancy could have been A LOT worse, but sometimes a girl needs to vent. How do I feel? Pregnant. Sleeping is not fun and unfortunately Jason has been a witness to this. I don't sleep well; he doesn't sleep well. It took me forever to feel comfortable last night AND Isabella was having a party in my belly. I fell asleep eventually only to be struck awake with leg cramps. I was moaning so bad that Jason woke up and had to help me stretch my legs and massaged my calves. Those are the worst...and it really bites becuase you never know when they're going to attack! I then had to go take a sugar test this morning. I wanted to be there early so I could eat something for breakfast, but the horrible night didn't help me wake up this morning in good time. And then I find out it takes an hour :( So, I have blood taken, drink something that tastes like Sunkist (which I hate by the way), and then I go to my car for an hour. I then go back upstairs and have blood taken again. Fun. I finally ate around 12:45.

So, there's that...and there's the sound of my heavy breathing just walking around the house and the feeling that I'm carrying a huge rock right below my chest. And I say right below my chest because as of late Isabella has been pressing on my ribs and is getting all up in my business! Where else can she go? Simma' down now!

I know there are some of you mothers out there reading this and think, seriously get over it, but I'm just having a moment. So, let me roll with it!

Last, but not least, my wedding band no longer fits :(

Tonight we reunited with some old friends from church that used to be in our bible study. BABIES EVERYWHERE! It was so nice to see them and meet the kiddos. And I was happy to have so many new mommies around! You can always vent to them and get some good advice! You can check out their blogs (I've added another section with some links) to the left. And yea, some of them are stay-at-home moms! I always have my ears open for word of other stay-at-home moms for Isabella and I to hang out with! Anyway, seeing all the cute babies makes me want mine here..now!

Speaking of baby here...now, I had a dream that Jason and I delivered the baby ourselves, but we didn't panic because in my dream it was normal. Sure. I remember saying to Jason, "we should probably put her back in." Sure. And then, I saw her face! It seemed so real. I could see every detail. She looked like mine so that was good...no afros. She had big, brown eyes with long lashes. Her skin was a little lighter than mine, but still olive, and her hair was light brown with curls. She had cute little lips which had to be from Jason! I remember smiling at her and she kept smiling back. After seeing her, I thought she is not going back in! Weird.

With that face in my head now, my complaints seem so stupid, but I've been attacked by a body snatcher, what do you expect?

Dazed and Confused

I know two things for sure about our birthing plan. One, epidural. Two, Led Zeppelin music. So, from now until Isabella's birthday she and I will be listening to the great music of Led. I'm thinking of purchasing some head phones for the tummy! I thought I'd share a taste of what the world will sound like for her when she arrives. I hope you enjoy the new playlist :)

Celebration Weekend

Jason and I spent the weekend in the country with the whole fam. Despite a lot of rain, we all had a lot of fun. We were able to celebrate Rylee's 8th birthday and Father's Day. A lot of good food, water fun, rest and relaxation!

me with the birthday girl!

burkhalter family

jason is protecting isabella from the flash!

baby cyle is starting to walk!

these crazy kids had some fun on the wave runner...jason's folks

uncle jason and rylee

spencer clowning around with his son, seth

silly boys.

debbie playin' around with her son, ryan...he wasn't too happy!

andy and debbie

christy is trying to get cyle excited about the lake!

jason skiing on the lake

ladies playing cards...i'm losing

Whoa.

What else can you say?

well, jason might not have much to say, but i sure do! this really freaked me out! i look down at my tummy all day, but this is quite a different view. sleeping is starting to be a little uncomfortable and being outside in this texas heat? well, let's just say i can't do it for long. so, this is me 13 lbs heavier as of today. i went to the doctor today which is now going to be a bi-weekly thing until 34 weeks. i heard isabella's racing heartbeat. she's doing well and so is mama! her movements are still very frequent but have definitely strengthened even more. jason will see me jump a little sometimes because she catches me offguard with a swift, strong jig!

i hope no one has nightmares from this alien-like view...i know, i know, i'm pregnant and it's a beautiful thing, but seriously...WEIRD.

Kemah

Jason and I had a nice evening in Kemah with the Conradicals Saturday night. Yummy food and can you believe it, we were seated at our table in 10 minutes! The boys kept joking that I had the camera out as if we were not from the area...

chris and jason decided to share this feast...they were hurtin' afterwards!

bibs were necessary!

belly to belly

big belly, swollen feet = sitting down

funny story...whenever there is cotton candy around, christy wants it! so, as she's buying some there's a man guessing people's weight and if he's wrong you get a prize. well, christy decided to play and not thinking about it she had her cotton candy sitting in front of her belly while eating out of it. the guy guesses, christy gets on the scale and the guy is shocked he was wrong. christy pulls her dress a little tighter to show him her belly. christy wins a prize and was able to win this big crayon, which she had minutes before saw a girl with one and told me she had always wanted one when she was a little girl! so, now she has one for her little girl ;)

we arrived at chris' parked car and told him i needed to take my first and last ride in it...they will soon get something a little more baby friendly!

Bathroom Update

After getting back from my offshore trip I managed to get the moisture barrier installed and the plumbing to the shower valve roughed in. Slowly but surely it's coming along.

Moisture barrier is installed. Woo-hoo! Next I'll install the HardiBacker and then I'll put the final layer of deck mud in. Then it's time to tile!

The plumbing is roughed in (not soldered up yet). All I need to do now is solder it all up and then check for leaks. Kinda scary.

Offshore Trip

Last week I finally went offshore to the Holstein platform to check it out. It's pretty amazing to visit the largest spar in the world. It's located 150 miles south of New Orleans in 4500 feet of water and houses 164 people year round. It's like being in a really nice hotel with really small rooms. I have about an hour worth of high-def video that I took of the whole facility with my new camcorder.

I took this as the helicopter was landing.

Ray and me on our tour of the facility. The orange hard hats, which told everyone else to watch us to make sure we were safe, were mandatory.

Amazingly enough, blue water does exist in the Gulf. It is super blue and extremely clear. There were lots of barracuda and tuna swimming around pretty much all the time.

It was a LONG way to the water. A long way.

This is the drilling rig that lives on Holstein. This rig is capable of supporting 1 million pounds. Seriously. While we were there, the drillers were trying to get a tool unstuck from a sidetrack they were drilling, so they would place the drill string under an enormous amount of tension, then release it. The whole spar would bounce a little bit. And this is a HUGE spar. It's taller from the top of the rig's derrick to the bottom of the spar's truss than the Eiffel Tower. Definitely something that has to be seen to be believed.

Also, for all you Rachel Ray fans out there, she's supposed to be hosting one of her cooking shows in the Holstein kitchen sometime in August.